


Animals, Cute Boys, and Other Things on Craig's Mind

by grapenight



Category: South Park
Genre: Animals, Anxiety, Cats, Fluff, High School, M/M, Matchmaker Clyde, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-02-28 16:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13274955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grapenight/pseuds/grapenight
Summary: Craig works part time at the local animal shelter, and usually he stays far away from the customers, if he can help it. Tweek is the exception.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work will be in two parts, possibly three if the second one seems a bit too long. Enjoy the beginning!
> 
> Also, my tumblr is [tinysquirtletrainer](http://tinysquirtletrainer.tumblr.com/), I reblog a lot of cute posts, hahaha.

Craig loved working at the animal shelter. When he was first applying for a job, he envisioned himself just working with and taking care of the small animals, like the guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits. He was well versed in guinea pigs, since they had been his pets since he was little, and he even had three currently, but he also knew how to take care of the smaller animals in general. He thought it would be natural for him to just stick with those, since he had never had a cat or a dog himself. Once he was hired, though, he quickly fell in love with all of the other kinds of animals, too, and it wasn't long until he became a jack of all trades. He would spend hours cleaning out litter boxes one day, and then the next he would be running outside with the dogs, tossing a frisbee around. Of course, the days where he played with the guinea pigs, or trimmed their claws, or fed them, or really anything to do with them, were always his favorite, that would never change. 

The job turned out to be perfect for him, which was a shock to his family. They had seen Craig be enthusiastic for so few things, they weren't expecting a job to be one of them. His dad had even bet that he wouldn't last a week there. But they were all surprised when Craig would come home after his first day at work, with a smile on his face, and an hours worth of stories about what had happened during his shift. It became a regular occurrence, after a day at work, he would come home and sit at the dinner table, talking nonstop about Oreo learning a new trick, or how Chester finally got adopted. 

Craig loved almost every part of his job, but some aspects weren't as much fun. There were some days where he got stuck working at the front desk, greeting customers and helping them fill out adoption forms. Working with people wasn't nearly as fun as working with animals, Craig had discovered quickly. Thankfully, his managers knew Craig wasn't the best at customer service, and he rarely had front desk duties. Only on days where it was exceptionally slow, and there was nothing else for him to do. 

It was a Thursday night in late December, just after Christmas, and it was slow enough that everyone but Craig and a manager had been sent home early, after all of the cleaning and feeding were done. Craig was stuck on front desk duty, while his manger was in her office, filling out some paperwork in the downtime. There hadn't been a customer for over an hour, and Craig was getting bored of continuously refreshing Twitter. There was no one out and about that day, and apparently, no one had anything interesting to say on social media. It was just a boring day all around. 

The clock just struck 5:30 when a family of three walked in, and Craig perked up in his chair behind his desk. There were two adults, and a boy that looked to be around Craig's age. He found it kind of strange that he didn't recognize the kid, considering how small South Park was.

"Hey," He greeted the family. "How can I help you today?" 

He said the same greeting to every customer, it was easy and to the point. He tried to keep his conversations with the customers as short as possible.

The lady smiled at him, and put her hand on the younger boy's arm, who must have been her son. "We're looking for a pet for Tweek." 

Craig nodded, taking note in the boy's unusual name. Tweek. That was definitely the first time Craig had heard that. He observed the boy, who was shaking slightly, with a noticeable twitch. Just being at the animal shelter seemed to be quite a stressful event to him.

"Dogs are in the room to the left, cats are in the room to the right, and the small animals are in the room behind me. Each animal has a little nameplate and some information about them on their cage, but if you have any other questions, or you find one you would like to adopt, just let me know," Craig explained. 

The two adults smiled and nodded at him, while the son looked at the three rooms nervously. 

"What do you want to look at first, son?" The father asked. Apparently, they were getting the pet more for the son than anyone else.

"AH, I don't know, it's a lot of pressure to choose, how am I supposed to know? What if all the animals hate me?" Tweek said, tugging nervously at the bottom of his shirt. 

Craig had to hide his amusement at the last statement. He knew for a fact that there were plenty of animals that loved everyone they met, and they had quite a few like that at the shelter. For some of them, the key to their heart was a simple scratch on the head, and then you were in for good. He thought about saying as much, but he didn't want say anything that might cause the boy to grow more nervous, because he was clearly stressed enough as is. 

"It’s okay, sweetheart, we can take our time, and see how you feel about them. Does that sound good to you?" His mother asked, rubbing his back. Craig could tell she had good intentions for her son, and wanted him to be happy, and find the perfect pet.

Tweek nodded, still looking at each room nervously. 

"Let's look at the dogs first," The father said, already heading in that direction. Craig wasn't sure a dog would be the best for the boy. Dogs were amazing animals, and they would have no trouble finding one that loved them unconditionally, but they were also a lot to handle, especially if you had never had a pet before. He had no idea if the family had owned any previous pets, but he guessed not, based on the boy's nervousness. 

Craig shrugged, and picked his phone back up, opening the Twitter app yet again, expecting them to take a while to look. It wasn't his problem to deal with. He would help them, if they asked for anything, and that was that. He wasn't about to insert his own opinions into their adoption hunt, even if he was usually right. He wasn't so surprised, when not even five minutes later, the boy came hurrying out, clutching his chest. Apparently, the dogs were too much for the boy, as Craig had suspected.

"Are you okay?" Craig asked immediately, worried that possibly something bad had happened with the dogs. 

The boy's mother came out then, rushing to her son and rubbing his back again. "He'll be okay, the dogs barking were just a bit too loud for Tweek to handle. It's okay, sweetie." 

Craig could tell the boy was taking deep, slow breaths, apparently trying to calm himself down. Normally, Craig would be the last one to help people find a pet, especially when they seemed as undecided as this boy did, but he suddenly couldn't help how much he actually wanted to help him. He didn't want to assume things, but from what he had seen, and how nervous the boy seemed, he guessed that the boy's parents were getting him a pet as a companion, possibly to help calm him down. Craig could feel his heart melting, and he had to help them out, if they let him. Not only could he help out the animal they would adopt, and find them a good home, but also the boy, Tweek. It was one of the first times he'd been so passionate about helping someone find a pet.

"If you'd like," Craig offered, going against his usual methods, "I can help you look at the animals. I know a lot about all of them, and I can try to help you find the perfect one." 

The boy stared at him, his mouth slightly open in shock, while his mother smiled brightly. "That might be just what we need. Richard is so biased towards dogs, but I just don't think they're right for Tweek. I read an article that said that cats can actually be very good for anxiety, would you be able to help us look at them? I have no idea what to look for in a cat, I've never had one." 

Craig nodded, pleased to hear that she obvious cared about what her son needed in a pet. He had seen how much a pet can help come a person down, they were a friend that was always there, and always loved you. You never had to worry about what a pet thought of you, either, since as long as you loved and cared for them, they'd love you back. Pets were kind of magical, in that way.

He headed out from behind the desk, and led the mother and son into the cat room, while the father seemed to stay with the dogs. 

"Do you have any preferences about how old the cat is?" Craig asked, looking directly at Tweek. If they were getting him a pet, he should have the ultimate decision. 

Tweek looked at his him, shaking his head. "No. I'm just worried they won't like me at all. I'm too jumpy, I scare animals away." 

Craig thought about that for a second. He needed to find a pet that wouldn't care about the boys twitching. "I think I know a cat that might be perfect for you," Craig informed him, motioning for the pair to follow him. 

He led them straight to Peaches' cage. Peaches was a year old, black cat, with very pretty green eyes. Out of all the cats they currently had, she was his favorite. She came up to the front of her cage immediately, gazing at them with interest. 

"This is Peaches," Craig introduced her. 

"Oooh, Peaches," The mother said, smiling, "She's a cutie." 

"Wh-Why is her name Peaches?" Tweek asked, not taking his eyes off of the cat. 

"Because she's as sweet as Peaches," Craig said, grinning. "That's not just a joke, either, she's possibly the sweetest cat I have ever seen. If you would like, you can head over to that little area over there, and I can bring her out so you can play with her, and see for youself." 

Tweek instantly froze up, "I don't know if I can do that, what if she escapes, or she scratches my eyes out, or somehow I squish her-" 

"Tweek, you don't have to worry about that, it won't happen. You heard the boy, sorry, what was your name?" The mother asked Craig, interrupting herself. 

"I'm Craig," he answered. 

"Craig said she was sweet. It'll be great, let's see how it goes, you might adore her," The mother finished. 

Tweek nodded slightly, still looking slightly terrified. 

Craig went around to open Peaches cage, and she happily meowed at him as he picked her up. She took so well to being handled, never scratched or bit anyone. She was really the perfect cat.

"Hi, prescious," He said, knowing that Tweek and his mom were just out of hearing range. "I might have found a great family for you. I think someone really needs your help." 

She meowed again, and he imagined it was her saying she was up for the job. "Good girl." 

He opened the door to the small play area, and closed it behind himself, before setting Peaches on the floor. He followed suit, and motioned for Tweek and his mother to sit also. They did, Tweek squished into the corner as far as he could go. 

"You can come closer," Craig said to Tweek, petting Peaches, showing him how sweet she was. "She won't bite, see?" 

Tweek nudged forward, maybe an inch at best, and Craig laughed to himself. He'd have to lead Peaches over to Tweek, if he was going to get him to interact with her at all. He slid over beside Tweek, who was frozen in fear, or maybe surprise. Peaches followed him happily, and after a couple of pets from Craig, she decided that she needed to investigate the other boy. She walked right up to Tweek, and sniffed at his knee. He didn't move, as if he was afraid of startling her. 

"Oh look, Tweek, she's interested in you. Try petting her," His mom suggested. 

Craig nodded in agreement. "Just hold your hand out for her first, so she can smell you, and see what she does next." 

Tweek cautiously followed his instructions, and held his hand out to Peaches. She gave him another two sniffs, and then rubbed her head on his hand. 

Tweek squeaked in surprise, but Peaches didn't even flinch at the noise, she just kept rubbing against his hand. After a couple of seconds, Tweek moved his hand, and pet her softly, just on the head, and she meowed happily. 

Craig was shocked to see the other boys smile for the first time. 

"She's not scared of me!" He said, excited. "Usually animals just run away from me." 

"She's excited to see you," Craig told him, "She really is a huge sweetheart." 

"I can tell," Tweek's mom said. "Oh, Tweek, I think she might be perfect for you." 

"That's so much pressure though! Taking care of an animal! Her life would depend on me!" Tweek argued, but even as he said it, he began petting her in earnest. Peaches was pleased, and started to climb into Tweek's lap. 

"That might be just what you need," She replied. 

An hour later, the Tweak family had paid the adoption fee, and were ready to go. 

Normally, Craig wouldn't be nearly as involved with helping a family find a pet, but he felt very good about what he had done. He could tell Peaches would be perfect for Tweek, and he was a bit sad he wouldn't have updates on how things worked out for them. He just strongly hoped that he wouldn't come back to work some day and see Peaches back in her cage, since he knew she had found her perfect home. She and Tweek had stayed in the play area while Mr. and Mrs. Tweak (Craig had discovered their last name was the same as Tweek's first name, but spelled differently, which was interesting to say the least) filled out the adoption forms. By the time Craig returned to get Peaches ready to go, she had been cradled in Tweek's arms, purring happily, even with Tweek's shaking. It was a match made in heaven. 

Craig couldn't help but notice how adorable the boy was, as he was smiling down at the cat. His smile truly lit up his face, distracting from the tension that was previously so obvious. His hair was bright, and kind of all over the place, but still looked soft, and so cute. Craig's heart would have melted again, if it weren't already sitting at the bottom of his chest in a goopy puddle.

"I think you two will be perfect for each other," Craig had told him.

Tweek looked up, and met his eyes truly for the first time that day, "Shouldn't you say _purr_ -fect?" he asked cheekily.

Craig couldn't help but laugh at the terrible pun, "No, I really shouldn't."

"Thank you," Tweek said, looking back down at Peaches. "I'm really very excited to have her."

"She's excited, too, I bet," Craig said. "Come on now, we'll gave to get her into this carrier, and then you are all good to go."

The Tweak family left with one more member, and Craig was left reflecting on what had happened. He could not believe how quickly the boy had turned him to mush. And now he was left alone, and would never see the boy again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig has a soft spot for Tweek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place a couple weeks later, when they go back to school. I hope you enjoy it!

"Did you hear there's a new kid?" Clyde said, first thing on the Monday the returned to school after Winter break. 

"Considering how I just walked into the building, no, I have not heard. Where the fuck did you hear that from?" Craig questioned. Clyde couldn't have been there much longer than Craig, but he wasn't surprised, Clyde was known for being nosy.

"I had to pick some papers up from the office, and I saw him and his parents in there filling out paper. I bet you'll think he's cute," Clyde said, wiggling his eyebrows at Craig. 

"You're an idiot," Craig replied. "Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I think literally every boy is cute." 

"I know that, but this one really is cute! Seems a bit quirky, too. I tried to talked to him, but Mrs. Williams kicked me out of the office. Said I was being a nuisance. Can you believe that?" Clyde said, frowning exaggeratedly. Everything Clyde did was exaggerated, but that was part of his 'charm'.

"Yes," came a new voice from behind them. Craig turned to see Token, another one of their friends, falling into step with them as they walked to their first class. "That's actually the first term I would use to describe you." 

Clyde pouted, and crossed his arms. "Both you and Craig are being so mean to me today. Here I am, trying to play Cupid, to help Craig finally get a boyfriend, and you treat me like this." 

They entered the classroom, and went to their usual seats, in the back of the classroom. 

"I remember the last time you 'tried to play Cupid' and ended up somehow sending me on a date with a straight guy. That was possibly the worst experience of my life," Craig reminded him as he pulled out his books. Clyde meant well, usually, but sometimes he was way off track. 

"I'll admit, that was my fault, but still, I have a great feeling about this kid! You'll think he's adorable," Clyde insisted. "I hope he's in our grade, that'll make it so much easier." 

Token laughed, "I can't wait to see what kind of scheme you try this time. The poor new kid isn't prepared." 

"I'm not even prepared, and I know exactly what he's going to try to do," Craig said, crossing his arms on his desk and hiding his face. 

Before Clyde could insist again that he could be a great matchmaker, if only his friends would let him, their teacher, Mr. Garrison, entered the room and told them to all shut up. 

"We have a new student today, please don't make fun of him, and treat him like an actual human, unlike all of you monsters," Mr. Garrison said, accompanied by a large sigh. Somehow, in their weird, tiny school system, they had ended up having Mr. Garrison as a teacher for several years now, and they all knew each other far too well. It's how it was in such a small, strange school, everyone knew everyone, and it was always very refreshing and exciting to have a new student. Craig could see Clyde practically bouncing in his seat from excitement.

"He's in a splendid mood this morning," Jimmy, another one of their friends, said from his seat beside Token. 

"I can't wait to see how he acts with the new kid," Token said. "How long do you think he'll pretend to be an actual, qualified teacher?" 

"I heard that, Token," Mr. Garrison said, not looking up from his computer screen. 

Apparently, class wasn't going to start until the new kid arrived. Craig saw this as an opportunity to catch up on some sleep. He was worked later than expected the day previous, which had left him doing his homework until three in the morning. It wasn't ideal, but Craig couldn't have left work earlier than he had, they had just gotten two new puppies in, and it had taken a lot of work to calm them down and get them comfortable in their new surroundings. 

He was shaken awake not even five minutes later, by Clyde, who sat in front of him and was currently completely turned around in his chair. "Look, look, look," he whispered excitedly. 

Craig groaned at him, irritated, but did look up to the front of their classroom, where the newest member of their class was standing. He had blonde hair, which was sticking up in every direction, and was wearing a green button-down shirt. He was shaking slightly, and his eyes were twitching. Craig immediately remembered him from a couple weeks ago, at the animal shelter. It was Tweek Tweak, he'd never forget that name. 

Clyde must have seen something show in his face because he smiled widely, and said, "I knew it!" 

"Shut the fuck up," Craig said, softly so no one would hear. "It's not what you think, I'll tell you at lunch." 

Despite Craig's words, Clyde still looked over the moon. 

"Class," Mr. Garrison said, "This is Tweek. Tweek, you can take a seat wherever you want." 

Tweek looked around the room, scanning the few empty seats and the people next to them, probably trying to judge who would be the best to sit next to. Before he could choose, though, Clyde, _fucking Clyde_ , raised his hand. "You can sit next to me!" 

"You are actually the worst," Craig said under his breath to Clyde, but it wouldn't change anything, Tweek was already heading over to sit in the empty seat beside Clyde, diagonal from Craig's own desk. 

"Hi," Clyde said happily. "I'm Clyde, that's Token over there, Jimmy is behind you, and this is Craig." 

Jimmy and Token both greeted Tweek politely, and he smiled back at them, before looking at Craig. 

"Hey," Craig said. "We've met before, I don't know if you remember. I work at the animal shelter." 

"O-of course I remember you!" Tweek said quickly. "You helped me find Peaches." 

Craig nodded, glad that Tweek remembered. Just on his tone alone, he could tell Tweek was actually really excited about it. It must have meant Peaches had in fact been a perfect choice for Tweek, and Craig felt proud. 

"Okay, that's enough chatter," Garrison said, "Time to get back to class." 

Normally, Craig would groan at the thought of having to take more notes, but he gladly took the opportunity to shut Clyde up, for at least the next hour. 

The rest of the morning passed quickly, heading from one class to the other, with Clyde showing Tweek the way to each class. They had all their classes together, since the school was too small to have separate classes for just one grade. Clyde also has Tweek sit next to them in each class, and if there wasn't an empty seat nearby, he made one. Craig found it funny how determined he was to set Tweek and Craig up, expecially considering he didn't know anything about Tweek that would give him any idea if he would like Craig, if they'd be compatible in anyway. Craig didn't try to fight him on it, though, since Tweek was really cute, and based on what he had learned from the night where he was in the animal shelter, it was probably very hard for him to start at a new school and make all new friends. 

They didn't really get a chance to have a conversation with Tweek until lunch, where he joined them at their usual table. Craig sat in the same spot as always, at the very end of the table, and Clyde gave up his normal seat, across from Craig, on the end of the other side of the table, for Tweek, and sat on his other side, so Craig and Tweek were across from each other. Craig figured he probably did that for two reasons, one, so that Tweek was closer to Craig, and two, so Craig couldn't kick him under the table. Clyde was definitely learning, Craig thought to himself. 

"So, Tweek, tell us a little about yourself," Clyde said, ignoring Craig's glare. 

"Uh. Well. I'm sixteen," Tweek started. 

"That's great, so are we!" Clyde informed him. "Keep going!" 

"I.. I just moved here over break, I'm originally from the Denver area. My parents, gah, are opening a coffee shop here." 

"Oh, I've seen that!" Token said. "I can't wait until it opens, we don't have any coffee shops around here." 

"Yeah, that was part of the reason we came here. Uh. I don't really know what else to say," Tweek said, looking down at his food. 

"That's fine," Craig said, "Don't let Clyde bother you too much." 

"OH no! It's fine! I'm actually really happy anyone talked to me, I thought maybe no one would, and I would have to sit alone today and I'd never make any friends..." Tweek trailed off, looking more and more nervous by the second. 

"How's Peaches doing?" Craig asked, trying to move the conversation on to something else. 

"She's great!" Tweek said, instantly relaxing. "She loves to play with this little toy I have, it’s a fish but it's on a stick and it hangs by a string and she'll just chase it around forever. And then, every night she'll come and sleep in my bed. She really is so sweet." 

"Wait, who is Peaches?" Jimmy asked, confused. 

"Tweek's new cat. He came in and adopted her the other day," Craig explained. 

"And her name is Peaches? That's adorable! Can we come over and meet her sometime?" Clyde asks. Clyde did have a love for animals, enough to possible rival Craig's own, but Craig knew that wasn't the only reason why he was so excited by the news. He was plotting for Craig and Tweek to spend more time with each other.

"Clyde! You just can't invite yourself over to other people's houses!" Token scolded him before Craig got the chance to do the same. 

"No, no, it's fine! If you want to come over, you absolutely can," Tweek said. "Peaches is nice, I'm sure she'd loved to see people, especially Craig." 

Clyde's grin was the biggest Craig had ever seen it, and he was so lucky Craig couldn't reach him, because if he could, he would kick him until his smile disappeared. 

"AGH! Just because, you know, she knows Craig already and they probably bonded at the shelter and everything," Tweek said, after a couple moments passed and no one said anything. 

"Can we come over after school today?" Clyde asked excitedly. "We're all free." 

Clyde was right, he knew Craig didn't have to work that afternoon, and both Jimmy and Token had yet to get jobs, so they were usually free. 

"Ye-yeah. That would be fine. My parents will be at the coffee shop, getting it ready, so they won't mind," Tweek answered. 

"Sounds great!" Clyde replied. 

Craig couldn't even imagine what Clyde was plotting. He wasn't that upset by it though, because it would be nice to get to see Peaches again. And he'd be lying if he said he didn't find Tweek extremely interesting. 

 

 

 

 

 

After school, they all piled in Token's car to go to Tweek's house. Craig found himself in the backseat, sandwiched between Clyde and Tweek. 

"How did I end up in the middle, I'm the tallest out of all of you," Craig complained, fiddling with his legs to try to find a comfortable position. 

"I'm sorry!" Tweek exclaimed, "I can trade you, I don't need this seat, I should have offered to begin with." 

"It's fine," Craig said, turning to smile at Tweek, "I'm sure I'll survive." 

"If I would have said something, you would have traded with me instantly," Clyde muttered. 

"And yet you didn't, hm, wonder why," Craig replied. 

"Stop fighting back there, it won't even take five minutes to get to Tweek's," Token said from the driver's seat. Their town was small, it really didn't take more than five minutes to get anywhere. 

"What d-d-did you g-guys think of that pop quiz in English to-to-today?" Jimmy asked, changing the subject, and was met with a car full of groans. It was completely unfair to spring a pop quiz on the first day back from break. 

"Don't remind me about that," Clyde said, hiding his head in his hands. "I did terrible, who knew you were really supposed to read that stupid book over break?" 

They complained about the quiz for the rest of the car ride, and they at least had the comfort that they all did terrible, considering none of them read the assigned reading over break. 

"We're here," Token said, pulling into the house that now belonged to the Tweaks'. All five of them filed out of Token's SUV, and Tweek led the way to his front door, unlocking it. 

"Sorry for the mess, we're not fully moved in," Tweek said sheepishly, as he opened the door. 

"It's fine," Clyde assured him, "I know for a fact my room is messier than your house could be, and I don't have the excuse of moving." 

"That's true," Craig agreed. Clyde's room was notoriously messy, and whenever they went over to Clyde's house, they would go to the basement to hang out instead, just to avoid the mess. 

"Where's Peaches?" Jimmy asked excitedly. 

"She's up in my room, we can head up there, as long as you guys don't want anything to eat or drink?" Tweek offered. 

Craig was moved by how genuinely sweet Tweek was. He barely knew them, but he put up with them practically inviting themselves over to his house, and then offers them all food. If someone tried that on Craig, he would have told them to fuck themselves. 

"We're good," Craig told him, giving him a small smile. 

They walked upstairs to Tweek's room, Clyde leading the way, and Craig and Tweek taking up the rear. 

"Thank you for including me so much today, it was really nice," Tweek said to Craig. 

Craig felt bad for receiving the credit for all of Clyde's work. "It was mostly Clyde, but I'm really glad he did it. I like getting to know you, you're very interesting. I thought that as soon as I saw you, the night you got Peaches." 

"Interesting in a good or bad way?" Tweek said, looking milddly offended. 

"Good way, of course," Craig replied. Even though Tweek turned his head forward then, Craig could still see the smile that was popping out. Maybe Clyde was actually on to something, holy shit. 

"Oh, look at her," Token said in surprise as soon as he saw Peaches. "I honestly expected her to be a Peachy color." 

By the time Craig and Tweek entered the room, Clyde was already laying on the floor, Peaches walking over his chest. 

"She's so cute!" Clyde said happily. 

"She's named Peaches because she's as sweet as Peaches, that's what Craig told me," Tweek said. 

Clyde, Token, and Jimmy all turned to look at Craig, before they broke into laughter. 

Craig shrugged, it was true. 

"I can't believe Craig actually said that, is he a whole different person when he's working at the shelter?" Clyde asked. 

"Nope," Craig insisted. "If you came in I'd still tell you to fuck off, same as I would anywhere else." 

"Suuuure," Token said, with a knowing look. 

"The animals m-make you all soft," Jimmy informed him. "I've seen you around your guinea pigs." 

"You have guinea pigs?" Tweek asked, looking at Craig. 

Craig nodded, "Three of them, and I love them to death." 

He was a bit embarrassed to admit that aloud, but it was true. Luckily, Peaches chose that moment to walk right over Clyde's face, walking toward Tweek, distracting everyone from Craig's last comment. 

"She stepped on my nose!" Clyde exclaimed. 

"I'm so sorry!" Tweek said, bending down to pet Peaches, who was ruddbing against his legs. 

"I think she just missed you," Criag said, "and she doesn't give a shit about Clyde." 

"That's not true, we were having a nice moment," Clyde said, sitting up. 

"She's not used to me being gone for so long," Tweek said. He sat on the floor, and let Peaches crawl into his lap and cuddle up. "She's very sweet, but also I think she's hungry. I'll go get some treats for her, I'll be right back." 

"Craig will help you get those," Clyde said, grinning at Craig. 

"Yeah, I'll come with you," Craig said, wanting to get away from Clyde for a bit. 

Downstairs, Tweek reached on top of his fridge, where he found a baggie of cat treats. "You didn't have to come with me," he told Craig. 

"I know, I wanted to. How has Peaches been since you got her?" 

"She's been great, she wasn't even scared when we first brought her home, and I thought she would be, because I was scared shitless myself. When I went to bed that night, she laid down right beside me, and fell right asleep! Which actually helped me get to sleep, because I didn't want to move and disturb her, so I fell asleep hours before I normally would," Tweek said. 

Craig was so glad that Peaches really was helpful to Tweek. He could tell by the dark circles under Tweek's eyes, and from all the coffee he had had to drink that day, that sleep wasn't easy for him. 

"That's great. She really is so sweet, and I'm glad to see she's already so comfortable with you." 

"Yeah, thanks again for all your help, it really means a lot to me," Tweek said, smiling at him. Craig could feel his heart start melting in an absolutely sappy way again. He really was already so fond of Tweek Tweak. 

 

 

 

 

After that day, Tweek became a part of their group, he sat next to them in their classes, and at lunch. Most of the time, he would join them in whatever they did after school to entertain themselves. He was friends with all of the boys, but Craig wanted to know him even more, to be even closer to him, but he would never admit that. He actually enjoyed Clyde's attempts at setting them up, which never worked. He was always making comments about how Craig wanted to go to the movies, or how they should go to Tweek's house and visit Peaches again. Usually, they did end up hanging out, but since it was almost always all five of them, nothing had happened between Craig and Tweek.

"Hey, Tweek," Clyde said one day, "Wouldn't you love to go to Craig's house to see his guinea pigs?" 

"Shut up, Clyde," Craig said, automatically. "Ignore him, Tweek, he's just being stupid." 

"Oh okay. It would be cool to see your guinea pigs, but I understand," Tweek said. 

Craig gaped at Tweek in disbelief. "Wait, what? You can come see my guinea pigs whenever you want! I just meant Clyde's being an idiot about it." 

"Whatever do you mean, Craig?" Clyde asked innocently, like he hadn't spent the last couple of weeks making offhand comments about how Craig and Tweek should spend more time together. 

"Yeah, Craig, I think he was just saying it's a bit weird that we've known Tweek for a month, and he still hasn't seen your guinea pigs. He's certainly heard you gush about them enough," Token added. He had picked up on what Clyde was doing from the beginning, but he usually didn't help him out so much. 

"It's fine," Tweek said, "You guys don't have to pressure Craig or anything, I don't blame him if he doesn't want to be my friend." 

"That's not it at all!" Craig said, upset that his asshole friends had convinced Craig doesn't like him. "Are you free today? I am, and you can come over whenever you want." 

Clyde smiled triumphantly. "Finally!" 

Craig spent the rest of the day glaring at Clyde. 

 

 

 

 

It was seven exactly when there was a knock on Craig's front door. He had been anxiously waiting in the living room since he had gotten home from school, unsure of what time Tweek would be over. He took a deep breath, and straightened his jacket, trying to make himself look presentable. 

He opened his front door, and saw Tweek standing outside. 

"Hi, Tweek," He said, letting him in. 

"Hi, Craig," Tweek mirrored, walking into his house for the first time. It wasn't a big deal, having a friend over to your house for the first time, but to Craig, everything involving Tweek was a big deal. He didn't know how to act normal around Tweek, and not announce his undying affection, and scare him off, which often made Craig a bit awkward when he was around Tweek.

They stood just inside the door for a couple minutes, just looking at each other. Craig was debating whether it would be vest to invite him to his room immediately, or if he should offer him something to drink first, but he was also worried Tweek wouldn't like whatever drink options they had. It was silly, but Craig was nervous in a way he had never really been before. 

Tweek broke the silence, "I'm sorry if you didn't want me to come over, just Clyde keeps talking about it and it made me think that maybe you don't like me, but he's trying to get you to. And it's fine if you don't like me, but at least you could say as much, because you are always telling people what you think, except me, and if you think you have to be easy on me because of my anxiety, you're wrong. I want to be treated like a normal person, and if you don't like me I deserve to know it so I can stop making a fool out of myself." 

Craig had no idea how to respond. 

"See, like no you're not even saying anything! If I was Clyde, you would have told me to fuck off or soemthing by now," Tweek pointed out. "This is so embarrassing, I shouldn't have come over." 

"Don't go, please," Craig said. "Can we sit down? I just need a minute to think." 

Tweek nodded, and went over to the couch, taking a seat at one end, while Craig sat at the other end. He took a few deep breaths, and then said the first thing that came to his mind. 

"You're not Clyde," Craig began. "I know that's obvious, but I don't treat you like I would Clyde, because you're a whole different matter entirely. I never tell you to fuck off because I'm genuinely interested in what you have to say." 

"But you're not interested in what Clyde has to say?" Tweek asked. 

Craig turned to face Tweek on the couch, looking him in the eyes. "Not always, because Clyde is a dumbass, and lately, half the stuff he says has been him trying to set us up. I'm, uh, gay, if you haven't picked that up yet. And like. I'm sorry this is so fucking embarrassing, but you're really cute, and Clyde knows I think you're cute, and he's been trying to get me to ask you out since I met you." 

Part of Craig wanted to go hide in his room, and shove his face into a pillow and scream for a couple hours. Another part wanted to text Clyde a millionmiddle finger emojis, for what he was making him go through. But a third part wanted to stay and listen to what Tweek had to say, even if it was a rejection, because that part of him was always there. 

"Me? You think I'm cute?" Tweek asked, bewildered. 

"Yes," Craig whispered, putting his face in his hands, to hide his face. 

"And here I thought I was the only one!" Tweek exclaimed. "I've been enamored with you ever since you helped me pick out Peaches, but I thought for sure you weren't interested! And I thought Clyde knew I had a crush on you, somehow, and he was teasing me everyday! But he was actually teasing you?" 

Craig could not believe what he was hearing. He dropped his hands and looked back at Tweek, who had a fierce blush over his cheeks. "Okay, let's just stop talking about Clyde, he's an asshole and we both know it. Are you saying you're interested in me?" 

"Yes," Tweek squeaked out. 

"Holy shit," Craig replied. He moved down on the couch, sitting directly beside Tweek, and taking his hand, interlacing their fingers. "So, uh, this means you'll be my boyfriend, right?" 

Tweek nodded enthusiastically, and pressed his own lips softly to Craig's, reaffirming his interest in the other boy. 

It was a short, sweet kiss, perfect for their first one, and Craig couldn't help but smile as Tweek pulled away. 

"Do you want to meet my guinea pigs now? They'll adore you, same as me," Craig informed him. 

"Absolutely!" Tweek replied. 

Craig led Tweek upstairs, and didn't let go of his hand the entire way.

"You know, earlier, that was the most I had ever heard you say. It was cute," Tweek teased him as the walked up the steps.

"Yeah, I definitely felt like I was blabbering. You make me nervous, I just want to impress you, always," Craig informed him.

He could not believe that Clyde was actually right from the very beginning. Craig liked Tweek, and Tweek liked him back. He knew it would go to his fucking head, and Craig would never hear the end of it. He was okay with it, he realized, because Clyde being right meant that Tweek was now his boyfriend, which was well worth a smug Clyde.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you can tell Craig actually really cares for Clyde, and whenever he's mean to him, it's in a brotherly love sort of way, not any actual hatred. Anyways, let me know what you thought! There's going to be one more chapter, which is kind of an epilogue. Thanks again for reading!
> 
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> And my tumblr is [tinysquirtletrainer](http://tinysquirtletrainer.tumblr.com/) and you can find me there, probably crying about Creek.


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